The dog days of summer are here.  I was grinding away with the pain in my hip/leg area since my last update but fortunately, it seems like it might be very nearly gone.  Over the last week or two, I’ve been able to play and practice more and haven’t really been troubled at all. I did lose a little of my golf stamina because last week I hit a lot of range balls in the morning and when I tried to play that afternoon, I was definitely fatigued.  It doesn’t help that the heat finally kicked in here in New Jersey and when it’s not hot, it’s raining, but I’m adapting. So, to sum all that whining up, “blah blah blah blah, I stagnated for a month.” On the positive side, I had a playing lesson last week.  Believe it or not, that was the first one ever for me.  I’ve had tons of traditional lessons on the practice tee, but never a playing lesson. It was quite an interesting experience. For those that have

It’s been a while since I’ve done a progress update. I’ve had some kind of muscle inflammation below and around the back of my hip, toward my backside.  It all started over a month ago when, during a lesson, my pro had me make a change in my stance.  Previously, I would address the ball with my left foot flared slightly toward the target, maybe 20-30 degrees.  He thought (and I agree) that it was keeping me from getting as much hip turn as I needed on the back swing, and then was making the hips turn a little too far too quickly during the down swing. When I changed that foot position, my ball striking got a little better right away.  Unfortunately, very soon after doing that, I started to get that muscle soreness.  Undoubtedly, the muscles in that area of my body were not ready for the stretching they would get with my foot more square during the swing. It got to the point where I took off a couple of weeks to

The struggles of this game never cease to amaze me.  Yet, I see some light at the other end of a long, long tunnel. I’ve been working with my pro regularly since early in the spring.  We’ve identified a number of things for me to work on, most of which I’ve mentioned previously.  When I say, “we’ve” identified, I mean he’s identified and I’ve responded with “ahh” or “hmm”. Here are the things I’m working on: Improved takeaway.  This is my number one problem.  A poor takeaway puts me in poor position at the top and causes some big problems.  My pro gave me the imagery of starting the back swing by moving the back of my right hand straight back away from the target.  That’s really been helping me feel the correct move. Better tempo.  In general, my tempo is pretty good, but sometimes I get a little adrenaline and get a little quick at the top of the back swing. Solid weight transfer during the back swing.  I tend to keep my weight

Now that the weather has finally shifted to be mostly spring-like, I’m able to get in a lot of work.  In fact, if I may say so, I’m working harder now on this quest than I have at any time in the previous two years.  I’m not sure why. It probably has something to do with the fact that I’m being treated for sleep apnea and have more energy and increased concentration than I have had in years.  It’s so much easier to practice after work.  And it’s easier for me to practice a lot longer.  I’m not wiped out after hitting a basket of balls.  In fact, I did that yesterday.  Then hit a second basket.  Then went to the practice green for over an hour. It probably also has something to do with the fact that I’m very unhappy with my progress so far.  I think I’ve realized that I’ve worked hard, but not even close to as hard as I could, or even should.  I also know – I know – that